For many years corrugated pre-packed paperboard point of purchase displays, sometimes referred to as shelf-ready packaging (SPR) or retail-ready packaging (RRP), have been one of the mainstays of the in-store marketing mix of tools available to brand marketers. In the past, a particular version of pre-packed displays, referred to as PDQ packaging, has become a display of choice for retailers. The process for designing, manufacturing, setting up and loading the product and distributing PDQ packages has remained virtually the same since its inception many years ago. The process consists generally of a display vendor obtaining a design brief from a brand marketer or an advertising or promotional agency representing the brand marketer. The display vendor may then create a design solution based on parameters within the design brief. The initial design concept(s) may be presented to the brand marketer in several formats, such as a sketch, a rendering, a prototype or a combination of these design outputs.
In a current PDQ packaging approach, cost estimates may be provided during the design process. If a design concept is accepted and approved by a brand marketer or its agency, the display vendor may create a final prototype for approval. Once approved, final costs may be determined and the display vendor may tool up to produce the PDQ packaging. Component layouts may be provided to whomever the brand marketer has selected to create the graphics to be printed on the display. The in-store execution date and the required quantity of the brand marketer may dictate a production and fulfillment schedule. The display vendor may manufacture in-house or outsource the display components needed for the promotion. The components may then be transferred in knocked-down format to a secondary packaging operation.
Currently, a PDQ secondary packaging operation may be included in services offered by a display vendor or may be offered by a separate vendor dictated by a brand marketer. Products of the brand marketer to be sold using existing PDQ packaging may be transferred, for example, to a secondary packaging operation. Currently, product requirements may typically be transferred in an open stock shipping container which the brand marketer may use for open stock (non-display) shipments to various retailers.
Presently, both the brand marketer's product and the PDQ packaging components are at a secondary packaging operation ready to be assembled. Typically, the packing operation may build an existing PDQ package based on drawings and assembly instructions from the display vendor. The packing operation may remove the product from the open stock shipping cases and load the product into the PDQ packaging based on a planogram. The open stock cases in which the product was delivered may be disposed of by the secondary packaging operation. This process may take days or weeks depending on the size of the order and/or the availability of the product transferred to the secondary packaging operation from the brand marketer's distribution center. The pack-out of PDQ packaging may typically require some degree of protective packaging to insure the display will arrive at the retailer undamaged.
Thereafter, pre-packed PDQ packages may be loaded into a shipping case that is then palletized (x number of cases to a pallet). In most cases, the pallets of PDQ packages may then be returned to the brand marketer's distribution center. The distribution center may normally ship such pallet loads to the retailer's distribution center. The retailer's distribution center may break down such pallets and ship single or multiple PDQ packages to a receiving area of an individual store. Thereafter, store personnel may pull single or multiple PDQ packages from the receiving area and remove them from the shipping container. Store personnel may then remove protective packaging, adjust the shelves on fixtures if necessary, and place the PDQ packages on the shelves. The retail store personnel may then place the shipping container and the protective packaging into a recycling process.
Typically, the shelves at a retailer's store may be located on a four-way fixture or at an end of an aisle end-cap. Currently, in-store compliance for successfully executing existing PDQ packages among various retailers is said to be between 50% and 80%. The PDQ packages may typically remain in a store for 2-4 weeks. After that time, a retailer may break the PDQ packages down and place the components of broken down packages into a recycling process. If the PDQ packages are not completely sold out, unsold product may generally be placed with other open stock product on in-line shelves.
The current process that has been described has been the method of choice for developing and executing promotional PDQ packaging for many years but has significant deficiencies in terms of component manufacturing and supply chain efficiency. There is a current need for improvements and innovations, such as a universal display design which incorporates superior efficiencies in both component manufacturing and supply chain. Typically, current PDQ packages are manufactured to specific shelf sizes. Embodiments of the invention conform to multiple shelf sizes while maintaining full product visibility and shopability.